State Parole Board Commissioner Chris Ortloff resigned from the Parole Board after his arrest on October 13th on federal charges of attempting to solicit sex with minors. Update on December 26th: "Former state Assemblyman George C. ''Chris'' Ortloff pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday morning to a felony charge in connection with his attempt to have sex with what he believed were two sisters, ages 11 and 12. Ortloff, a former member of the state Parole Board, pleaded guilty to a single count of online enticement of minors. The conviction carries a minimum 10-year prison sentence and a maximum of life in prison. By signing the plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Ortloff avoided indictment and accepted responsibility for his crimes. The government, in turn, agreed to recommend a reduced sentence..." (full story...)

December 01, 2008

"Shu'aib was represented by NYC lawyer Lawrence Stern, who has been representing him since doing his trial appeal years ago. The judge denied Shu'aib Raheem's petition on the grounds that the Parole Board is empowered to reconsider its parole decisions without regard to time limits and the underlying rationale as long as the victims did not take advantage of the opportunities afforded them prior to the decision to make impact statements. His lawyer has filed a Notice of Appeal to the Appellate Division, 3rd Dept. The appeal will take several months, and the reconsideration hearing has been postponed until the appeal is decided."

November 04, 2008

"Initially the state moved to dismiss our case, arguing it does not belong in federal court, because federal constitutional rights were not violated. Judge Brieant denied the state's motion. There was a change in the administration, the state moved again to dismiss, Brieant denied that motion as well. Since then we’ve been involved in the discovery process. The purpose now is to amass evidence of the policy as we alleged. During this time decisions have been made in district courts in NY that disagree with Brieant’s decision, saying it does not belong in Federal court; that it may violate state law but not federal. Judge Brieant died and Judge Cathy Seibel is our new judge; we go before her the first time on Nov. 6 and the due process decision will be discussed. The case is about how it is that these commissioners, usually 3 of them, make the decisions that they make. We believe that they are made arbitrarily in accordance with a predetermined plan based on the parole commissioner's personal philosophy and not in accordance with statues. If a judge decided on 15 to life as sufficient, how does the board then reach a decision that it's not true or sufficient? If the board says because of the crime you committed you are still a danger, they are supposed to express how you are still a danger and they are not doing that, they are just saying that because the crime was done, there is a danger. We have the evidence that this is what is going on, the question is does that constitute a federal due process violation? That’s what needs to be decided before we can move forward.

The statistics show that the people who committed these violent offenses are the least likely to repeat. Those statistics refute the argument that these people who committed these crimes years ago are still a danger."

September 02, 2008

The specific provision of the Bill is to "restore to the Board of Parole the discretion, after three consecutive years of successful unrevoked parole release, to grant a discharge from parole supervision to persons who are serving an indeterminate sentence with a maximum term of life, and for whom the Board of Parole has determined that a discharge from parole supervision would be in the best interest of society".

August 01, 2008

Family Empowerment Day 4 - NYC will be held on Saturday October 25th, 2008 from 9-4 at the Columbia Law School, with the theme "Taking Action to Bring Our Loved Ones Home".

George B. Alexander, Chairman of the NYS Division of Parole, will be the keynote speaker and will be reporting on "The State of Parole Today".

The Prison Action Network, together with a team of advisers representing parole, legislative action, and media, aim to use this platform to create a plan for a strategy to obtain fair and just parole decisions.

June 19, 2008

GRAZIANO VS. PATAKIThe Court adjourned the conference. NO definite date has been set for the next conference. In the meantime, the lawyers are finishing up discovery and the case will be decided either on motion or trial.

June 10, 2008

Joseph B. Crangle has been nominated as a Member of the State Board of Parole. Since 2000, Mr. Crangle has been an Assistant Court Analyst with the New York State Office of Court Administration. In this role, Mr. Crangle is assigned to the Domestic Violence Part of the Buffalo City Court where he monitors defendant’s compliance with court orders. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Crangle was a Probation Officer with the Genesee County Probation Department, where he oversaw the Pretrial Release Under Supervision program. Mr. Crangle received his BA from Canisius College and his JD from the City University of New York.

Mary Ross has been nominated as a Member of the State Board of Parole. She has been a Staff Attorney with the Legal Aid Society in Queens, New York since 1998. From 1990 to 1995, Ms. Ross was the Executive Director of Providence House, directing this nonprofit corporation that provides transitional and permanent housing for female ex-offenders, homeless women and their children. Ms. Ross was previously the Program Director of Providence House from 1984 to 1990. Ms. Ross was also the Campus Minister at Queens College from 1982 to 1984 and was the Director of Administrative Services at the Diocese of Brooklyn from 1978 to 1982. She received her BA in Education from St. Joseph’s College, her MS in Education from Brooklyn College and her JD from the City University of New York.

Salaries for Members of the Parole Board are set at $101,600. These appointments require Senate confirmation.

The first phase of the NYS Division of Parole's new initiative went online today, allowing users to look back at parole board determinations over the past two years, and forward to cases due to come before the board within the next six months. A link has been added to make it easier for crime victims to submit a victim impact statement.

Phase II of the initiative is due to go online later this year and will add search capabilities and information on individuals currently on parole, such as the length of sentence served by the offender, the supervising parole officer, and contact information for the appropriate regional parole office.

A statement about the new initiative by George B. Alexander, Chairman of the NYS Division of Parole, may be found here.

April 10, 2008

"April 9, 2008 - PAROLE UPDATE (Submitted by Cheryl Kates, Esq.). We have just learned that Parole will see parole applicants 4 months prior to their earliest release date in order to make time to prepare them for re-entry if they are released. They have adjusted most peoples' dates in the computer and they will be seen 2 months earlier than they were already scheduled."

March 10, 2008

"Allows the governor to review decisions by the parole board to grant or deny release on parole to inmates serving a sentence of imprisonment, or the imposition of conditions of such release; allows the governor to delay the scheduled release of an inmate to parole by not more than fifteen days for the purpose of conducting such a review."

February 20, 2008

"Directs the division of parole to maintain a current list of all inmates due to appear before a parole board on its internet homepage; directs such division to establish a means by which crime victims can register to receive notice of the date of the parole hearing of the inmate who committed the offense against such victim; directs such division to report to the governor and legislative leaders on a quarterly basis on those inmates granted parole; requires all member of the parole board to agree on the parole of an inmate convicted of a class A felony; requires notice of a parole hearing to be provided to the district attorney and the crime victim, nine months in advance of the parole hearing of an inmate; requires the crime victims fair treatment standard pamphlet to include information on registering with the division of parole to receive notice of the parole hearing of the person convicted of an offense against a crime victim."

February 19, 2008

Articles commenting on the proposed new legislation intended to restrict the parole release of violent felons, announced by Senator Michael F. Nozzolio at the New York State Senate Majority Conference on February 5th:

February 06, 2008

A new bill was proposed on February 5th by Senator Michael Nozzolio at the New York State Senate Majority Conference which would strengthen victims' rights, increase public awareness prior to release, and require unanimous votes by the Parole Board for release.

Roberts outlines the key stages in the development of the case and identifies the Parole Board's approval of the release of Shu'aib A. Raheem as the turning point that led the state to withdraw from the settlement.

The Parole Board have responded to pressure by agreeing to reconsider the case of Mr. Raheem. His release, scheduled for January 3rd, has been delayed.

Sadly John MacKenzie was found dead in prison on the morning of Thursday, 4 August 2016.

John took full responsibility for his crime yet in spite of his genuine and heartfelt remorse, his complete rehabilitation, his spotless disciplinary record and his impressive accomplishments and achievements, he was denied parole ten times for the one thing he could not change — the nature of his crime.

John's case is used as an outstanding example by advocates working to restore justice and fairness to parole.

Rest in peace dear John. You are greatly loved and missed.

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NYS Parole Statute

Procedures for the conduct of the work of the New York State Board of Parole:

NYS Parole Reform Campaign

Working to change unfair and unjust parole policies through the Safe and Fair Evaluations (SAFE) Parole Act. Regular updates are given in Building Bridges, the monthly newsletter of the Prison Action Network.

Special dedications

Parole News is dedicated to the memory of Charles "Chill" Hamilton and David "Pancake" Ramos, who died in prison. Charles "Chill" Hamilton was committed to parole reform. He had a sincere desire to help men change their lives, achieve an education and work towards becoming productive, law-abiding, contributing members of society. David "Pancake" Ramos kept everyone laughing. He was always happy, despite being in prison.